I collapsed crosswise on the counterpane, and...
Posted on Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 10:32 PM
I
collapsed crosswise on the counterpane, and found
myself eye-to-eye with Reba as the shells beneath
Big Pink murmured
What did you do? Reba askedWhat did you do this
time, you nasty man?
I tried to say Nothing, but I was asleep before
the word could come outAnd besides - I knew
better
xii
The phone woke meI managed to push the right
button on the second try and said something that
vaguely resembled hello
"Muchacho, wake up and come to breakfast!" Wireman
cried"Steak and eggs! It's a celebration!" He
paused"At least I'm celebratingMiss Eastlake's
fogged out again
"What are we cele-" It hit me then, the only thing
it possibly could be, and I snapped upright,
tumbling Reba onto the floor"Did your vision
come back?"
447
"It's not that good, I'm afraid, but prada bags sales it's still
goodThis is something all of Sarasota can
celebrateThe guards who do
the morning count found him dead in his cell
For a moment that itch flashed down my right arm,
and it was red
"What are they saying?" I heard myself asking
"Suicide?"
"Don't know, but either way - suicide or natural
causes - he saved the state of Florida a lot of
money and the parents the grief of a trialCome
on over and blow a noisemaker with me, what do you
say?"
"Just let me get dressed," I said I
looked at my left armIt was splattered with many
colors
"Painting?"
"No, banging Pamela Anderson
"Your fantasy life is sadly deprived, EdgarI
banged the Venus de Milo last night, and she had
armsHow do you like your
huevos?"
"OhI'll be half an hourI must say you don't sound louis vuitton bags very
thrilled with my news bulletin
"I'm still trying to wake upOn the whole, I'd
have to say I'm very glad he's dead
"Take a number and get in line," he said, and hung
up
xiii
Because the remote was broken, I had to tune the
TV manually, an antique skill but one I found I
still possessedOn 6, All Tina, All the Time had
been replaced by a new show: All Candy, All the
TimeI turned the volume up to an earsplitting
level and listened while I scrubbed the paint off
George "Candy" Brown appeared to have died in his
sleepA guard who was interviewed said, "The guy
was the loudest snorer we ever had - we used to
joke that the inmates would have killed him just
for that, if he'd been in gen-pop A doctor said
that sounded like sleep apnea and opined that
Brown might have died from a chanel clutch resulting
complicationHe said such deaths in adults were
uncommon but far from unheard-of
449
Sleep apnea sounded like a good call to me, but I
thought I had been the complicationWith most of
the paint washed off, I climbed the stairs to
Little Pink for a look at my version of The
Picture in the long light of morningI didn't
think it would be as good as I'd believed when I
staggered downstairs to eat an entire box of
cereal - it couldn't be, considering how fast I'd
workedThere was Tina, dressed in jeans and
a clean pink tee-shirt, with her pack on her back
There was Candy Brown, also dressed in jeans, with
his hand upon her wristHer eyes were turned up
to his and her mouth was slightly open, as if to
ask a question - What do you want, mister? being
the most cartier santos demoiselle likelyHis eyes were looking down at her,
and they were full of dark intent, but the rest of
his face showed nothing at all, because the rest
of his face wasn't thereI hadn't painted his
mouth and nose
Below the eyes, my version of Candy Brown was a
perfect blank
10 - The Bubble Reputation
450
i
I got on the plane that brought me to Florida
wearing a heavy duffle coat, and I wore it that
morning when I limped down the beach from Big Pink
to El Palacio de AsesinosIt was cold, with a
stiff wind blowing in from the Gulf, where the
water looked like broken steel under an empty sky
If I had known that was to be the last cold day
I'd ever experience on Duma Key, I might have
relished itI had lost my
knack for suffering the cold gladly
In any case, I hardly knew where I speedy bag louis vuitton wa
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